Liverpool boss Matt Beard insists his Barclays manager of the season award is โgreat recognition for everyoneโ after finishing fourth in the Womenโs Super League.
Liverpool achieved their highest position since 2014, when they won the WSL title, and ended the campaign with four straight wins including victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, which helped them finish above the latter.
Beard was recognised for his teamโs performance over the course of the season by being given the award at the League Managers Association dinner.
โIโm very grateful and very humbled,โ Beard told the PA news agency.
โItโs great to see the work we have done has been recognised as always, we couldnโt do it without the staff or the players so this award is not just about me, itโs about the collective so from that side itโs great recognition for everyone.
โItโs not just me. Iโm the figurehead of it all but the players have performed, the staff have worked tirelessly for the club.
โItโs an interesting one, could we do a whole backroom team award rather than a managerโs one because thereโs a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes with people we donโt see.
โI get a bit embarrassed by it all if Iโm honest with you but for me, I couldnโt do what I do without the people I have with me.โ
Liverpoolโs fourth place finish behind Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal took them to within one spot of qualifying for the Champions League, which Beard insists is the next obvious goal for them as they look to build on a successful season.
He added: โThe Champions League is the logical next step for us. We are under no illusions on how tough that will be, you can even include Manchester United in that, what they spend.
โStatistically we were much better than what we were last year so now we need to step that up a level next season.
โItโll be tough to break into that top three, Man United are the only team thatโs done it โ thatโs our ambition but for me itโs about how we improve on this seasonโs points tally.โ
Liverpool previously used to share League Two club Tranmereโs training ground before spending a number of weekโs at the menโs AXA training centre, but moved back into the menโs teamโs former facility Melwood ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Beard insists the move into their own facility has been key to their success on the field this season.
He said: โWhenever you share a facility like we did at Tranmere โ and I had a great working relationship with the staff there โ itโs their training ground so we are constantly having to work around them.
โEven when we were at the academy at pre-season we were having to work around the (under-)21s so to have your own bespoke facility, itโs vitally important so weโre not having to move training sessions or classroom sessions for whatever reason.
โThe facility itself is world-class, thereโs a lot of history created here so thatโs also had a big impact on the players as well.โ
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